Category Archives: EDUCATION

The Common Core Weekend Reads – 2-15-15

Posted on February 15, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

These are the Common Core Weekend Reads for February 15th, 2015.

This is a review of the past week of news on Common Core nationwide and in North Carolina.

Articles are organized by category.

Prior Edition of Weekend Reads: 2-8-15

KEEP READING… Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, EDUCATION | Tagged Weekend Reads | 1 Comment

Pete Kaliner Show: ‘You’re a Monster for Parent Concerns’

Posted on February 14, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

In case you missed it yesterday, I went on the Pete Kaliner show to discuss the Wake County ‘book club’ controversy. Hit the 76 minute mark.

Pete and I discussed the media closing ranks to defend the schools, the Principal of the school’s statements not matching up with the documentation, the need for greater transparency in what materials schools are using and In terms of transparency, Pete noted that I seem to be ‘a monster for parent concerns’. The most important piece discussed was the question, how appropriate is this material for 9 and 10 year-olds?

KEEP READING… Continue reading →

Posted in EDUCATION | Tagged Pete Kaliner, WCPSS | 2 Comments

“But she is informed, super-savvy, and driven by her love for her children.”

Posted on February 13, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Common Core supporters don’t get what is driving the Common Core backlash.

American Principles Project’s Ed Director, Emmett McGroarty, totally gets it. Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, Twitter, Video | 3 Comments

NC Book Assignment On Black Panthers Draws Controversy

Posted on February 12, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Imagine a 9 or 10 year-old grappling with a story about a mom who sends her kids to a Black Panthers camp where they learn about’racist, white pigs’ instead of going to Disneyland. That is what happens in One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia.

One passage from One Crazy Summer reads:

”he didn’t have a leather jacket, but he was one of them. On his black T-Shirt was a dead white pig with flies buzzing around it and the words OFF THE PIG in white letters.” Continue reading →

Posted in EDUCATION | 3 Comments

Concern Over 4th Grade Books? NC Media To The Rescue.

Posted on February 11, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

In the past week, books assigned to 4th graders at a Wake County school have made national headlines, but local media didn’t cover it until that happened.

Now that the story is out there and Wake County Schools are under the microscope, the coverage can arguably be characterized as ‘media to the rescue’.

Note the title at the News and Observer already sets the narrative, Some books at Cary school draw complaints from conservatives. Gosh, what assumptions will the reader make from that title, before they even read the article? One can gauge that just by reading the comments section.

KEEP READING… IT GETS WORSE. Continue reading →